NEVER FORGET

This morning I turned on the television and it was already tuned to a news channel. On this channel there was a special remembrance ceremony going on for all of those who lost their lives on this day in 2001. The lost were remembered, those left behind were allowed opportunity to grieve their loss and speak about their loved ones. It was a moment for all of us to refresh our memories and “NEVER FORGET” what took place on September 11th 2001.

As I watched this though, one of the television cameras panned the crowd and focused for a second on this man holding up a picture of his brother. On the picture were the words “You live in our hearts”! This single moment struck my spirit in a way that nothing else in recent memory could have. That one phrase was a wink from God reminding me of something. Do we have Jesus living in our hearts as much as we have the pain of what happened to our nation living there?

As we remember the loss that was suffered on September 11, 2001. We should remember even more what took place on a cross at Calvary. The event that changed you and me forever took place. The event that should be the most significant event in all of history took place. Jesus Christ, the only son of God the father was crucified. He did this voluntarily as he knew that he had to do this. He was born for this moment. To die for our sins, and in doing so, wash our spirits clean in the process. This one act of selflessness gave all of mankind the opportunity to have fellowship with God the father again. No longer were animal sacrifices necessary. God sent his own son to die as the PERFECT sacrifice.

Luke 14:25-26 (The Message) say’s. One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, "Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one's own self!—can't be my disciple”. We are to love the Lord with all our hearts, all of our minds and all of our strength. We are to cling to Jesus and let go of the things of this world.

My children were only six years old when I began to teach this lesson to them. It was a hard lesson for them to swallow at that time. However at only age 9 ½, they now fully understand that they must love Jesus more than mommy or daddy, more than Grandma and Grandpa, more than their friends, teachers and cousins. I know that if something where to happen to me that caused me to die. I have no doubt that I would surely be missed and it would be sad, but I also know that my children would lean on the Lord Jesus Christ more than on their own understanding.

People ask me from time to time if I ever go to the cemetery to visit my father’s grave. Often to their surprise, I answer with this. No I don’t go there because there is nothing there. I went a few times shortly after he died in 1999, but I was just beginning my walk with Christ at that time and didn’t know what I believed or understood back then.

Many people have a tough time when it comes to this. You have to let go. If we cling to anyone or anything other than Jesus Christ, we cannot be his disciple. There are many who don’t understand this fact and it’s critical that we all do. We cannot talk to the dead. The dead cannot answer prayer. There are so many people that won’t let go. They pray to the dead as if they are as powerful as God because they died. I have a friend who lost a couple of close friends on Flight #11 on September 11th 2001. I know they are with the Lord now though, so as much as I wish that never happened, I know they are in a far better place where there is no terrorism or fear.

Let’s never forget the tragedy of September 11th but let’s make sure that no matter how much the media sensationalizes something that we never allow anything to become more important than what took place a couple thousand years ago on a cross. There is nothing in this world that deserves our attention, thought and prayer more than what Jesus Christ did for us on that day.

Father I pray right now for the families and friends of those that lost loved ones on September 11th 2001. I pray that they would find your peace which surpasses all of our understanding. I pray Lord that they would come to know you more and that their lives would be filled with the joy of knowing you. I pray that they would let go of the things of this world and cling to the things of God. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen

May the grace of god be with you always!

"The Sharpshooter”

Paying The Price

Bills! We all have them; there is no disputing that fact. The cost of living in 2008 is astronomical. Times are really hard and it’s not looking like that will change anytime soon. We all have bills that we pay every month and some are weekly. There’s the monthly credit card bill, the monthly rent or mortgage, the food bill, the car payment, fuel for the car, insurance, unexpected bills and then the occasional dining out bill. We all really have to stretch our finances and our imaginations to make ends meet sometimes.

In thinking about paying bills, I started thinking about how sometimes we complain about our bills. The mail carrier has a tough job these days. He’s delivering bills all of the time. Whatever happened to receiving a letter from someone every once in a while to break the financial monotony?

I can think of numerous times when I have taken someone to dinner. The check comes to the table and I take it and I say that “I will pay it. It’s all set”! Thinking about paying that bill for someone else, evokes a really good feeling in me. I like doing things for others, so I enjoy this sort of thing when I’m able to do it (which lately isn’t often). I recently thought of paying that bill a little more in depth. “I’ll pay the bill”. This made me think about paying the price.

Jesus paid the ultimate price for our salvation. He gave up His life, so that we could have ours. He paid the price that no amount of money could ever pay. You can’t buy your way into Heaven. You cannot buy salvation. You cannot buy peace, love, compassion or blessings; none of it can be bought. In Matthew 19:23-24 (Amplified Bible) Jesus said to His disciples, truly I say to you, it will be difficult for a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go into the kingdom of heaven.

This was said regarding a man of wealth who had just spoken with Jesus. The man had followed all of the commandments from his youth and wanted to know what else he had to do to gain entry into Heaven. Matthew 19:21-22 (Amplified Bible) says that Jesus answered him, If you would be perfect [that is, have that spiritual maturity which accompanies self-sacrificing character], go and sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have riches in heaven; and come, be My disciple [side with My party and follow Me]. But when the young man heard this, he went away sad (grieved and in much distress), for he had great possessions.

When Jesus was on the cross and he said “It is finished”, that also said to me that the price was paid. That selfless act of love by Jesus cost him everything and cost us nothing. When you see a less fortunate person on the street, do you pass them by or do you maybe exchange a pleasant hello or maybe even offer to buy them a sandwich. Where would we all be if Jesus decided not to go to the cross? We all were that person on the street until he paid the price for us to be free. I have a soft spot in my heart for the homeless and the poor. The way I was brought up was to treat everyone the way that I wanted to be treated.

That lesson isn’t often taught today. The mentality in the world today for the most part is to take care of you. There is nothing wrong with taking care of you first, but what about those who can’t take care of themselves? What about them? What would Jesus do? I believe that the poor and needy would be his best friends. The last would indeed be first.

See, when Jesus gave up His life for us. It was the ultimate act of selfless love. He taught us how to love. Yet if Jesus walked the streets today dressed as a poor person, I’m afraid he would be passed by many times, without someone even saying hello. As Christians, people are supposed to see Christ in us. If they don’t see Christ in our everyday lives, how will they ever listen to us when we want to minister to them?

I’ve heard people say things like (I need to be careful around certain people, so they don’t think badly of me). My response to that was if a person needs to put on a mask around anyone, then they have a lot of work to do on themselves. We shouldn’t have to be concerned with who we might run into. If we are living as we should be, all people will see a consistent picture of Jesus in us.

In closing, regarding the bills. It would be in our best interests if every time we spend money on anything, that we recall the price that Jesus paid. It will help us to keep in perspective how small our problems financial or otherwise really are.

Father I thank you for this message. I pray that we would all let this take root, so that we could be fruitful in areas where we may not currently be. Father, help us to see things as you do. Help us to have not only a servant’s heart but a giving spirit. Give us divine visions of how we can abolish poverty once and for all. Lastly, Father, I pray that you would help us to let go of concerns of worldly wealth and to embrace the reality of spiritual wealth and health.
In Jesus name I pray.
Amen.

God Bless You All.

“The Sharpshooter”

“Practice today for a better tomorrow”

We are living in a time when the world is a mess. Work life, home life, even recreational time for many people has become so rushed and stressful that the ability to enjoy the moment, or “Live for today” is being missed. There are so many legitimate concerns that people have today, that you end up planning life six months to a year down the road and this has become a way of life for too long. We need the Lord’s touch in this area of our lives because we cannot in our own strength fix this. How did it get this way one might ask? I can say with all honesty “The devil made us do it.”

We are prisoners of our most precious commodity, time. Both of my parents were fifteen years old in 1940. I always hear about when they were in their teens and early twenties and at that time not many people could afford to own a car. The majority of people walked or took the trolley to work or school and maybe used the family car if they had one for a weekend ride or vacation. It was a simpler time. The newspaper was a source of information and entertainment and not many missed reading it especially the Sunday edition. My dad worked for the major Boston newspapers for a better part of his life. This is how I know this. Today journalism is a lost art and it has become sensationalism that just stresses us out. I have not watched a news program on purpose for over a year because of this. My stress dropped at least forty percent when I let go of that.

As time went on especially in the United States, everything was being made to make things more convenient. We were able to do more things in less time and that was thought to be a good thing, so what did we do, we kept on compressing that convenience until now you can heat up a bowl of soup (organic of course) in about two minutes. Have you ever seen someone almost lose their mind because the soup in the microwave was taking too long? I saw that once and at first I agreed with the person heating their soup, because we’ve all been conditioned by this system of doing more in less time with fewer resources. Then I later thought about it and realized that soup on the stove takes fifteen to twenty minutes easily. How could someone get irritated by two minutes? That’s quick!

We are so rushed today that we have become the most over medicated people in the world. Many folks are just swallowing there problems in the form of a pill or alcohol. There is a better way and that way is through Jesus Christ. The only way that I can truly cope with the stresses of life is when I relinquish control to my savior Jesus. That in itself is not that easy because all of us want some form of control and we have this belief that relinquishing that control means we are out of control.

I’ve often heard people say that this is “The nature of the beast”. Most people that say this have no idea what they said; they just think that it sounds good. However it is the nature of satan to want control. He wants to control every aspect of our lives to the point that he is able to pull us away from God with temptation of what looks like an easier way. Trust me, there is no easy way. The idea of control being lost when we give it over to Jesus Christ is a total illusion created by the enemy of our souls. In fact we are in the most control of our destinies when we give control of our lives over to Jesus Christ, because he’s the one that knows the plan for our lives, we have no idea what the next few hours hold.

We need to begin making changes in our lives that will decrease our stress and improve our quality of daily life. I am making a conscious effort to take the long way through life; I have to break what I call the microwave mentality which is all about short cuts. If we all start to make changes that will incorporate some old school thinking and slow us down, we will better be able to enjoy our today and it’s only through enjoying today that we can have a hope for tomorrow.

If we continue to zip through today, then our tomorrow’s will come and go and we’ll have missed our potential, our purpose and our freedom by being bound to convenience which only equals stress and that is nowhere close to the purpose that God has for our lives. “Nowhere in the Bible does it say that God said that “I have for you a plan that will cause you great stress and strife” On the contrary. Jesus said in John 10:10 (Message) that “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of”.

Won’t you take a moment now and thank God for sending his only son to die for our sins so that we could have eternal life with God the Father?

Father I thank you for all you have done in my life and the lives of those I know and love. Father without you sending Jesus, we would have no hope for redemption and it is only because you loved us so much that you sent your only son Jesus to die on that cross for our sins. I can never say thank you enough, but I can do my best to bring honor and glory to you in all that I do. I know that this is your will for all mankind and if we’ll just step into your will, we will step into our destiny. I pray father that you will bless in double portion all who read this message and help them to break through the miry clay that this world has become.

In Jesus name I Pray

Amen

God Bless You All.

"The Sharpshooter”

yourvictory@gmail.com

The Vines & Root's That Bind Us

Yesterday I had some tree work done and in our yard we have these huge Oak trees. On one of them we were shown that Poison Ivy had grown alongside the tree and had grown to look like it was part of the tree. The bark and every other thing about it blended in like it was part of the tree. This Poison Ivy vine had become close to four inches in diameter at the base and it wrapped all around the tree at least half way up. It was estimated that this Poison Ivy vine was literally choking off this tree for the last forty or fifty years. Limbs at the top were not blooming well and some branches were actually falling off. After this took place the Lord put this message in me.

Just as these Poison Ivy vines grew very slowly over years and consumed this tree, so grow the vines that the devil wraps around our feet. This is only one reason why we have to be so tuned in to the Lord. So that we can have ears to hear and eyes to see in the spiritual to be able to stop the devil in his attempts early on. If we are not hearing and seeing in the spiritual realms, the devil has all sorts of time to have his way with no interference, and the longer he has to work on us, the harder it becomes to unwrap those vines he connects to us to hold us down in sin, oppression, addiction and so many other things.

If I were out in the woods and had an encounter with a large snake, I know it would be much easier to defeat the snake as it tries to wrap itself around my legs than it would be to get it off of my neck. We must all become more aware of the things that satan is trying to accomplish in and around us. There is such a high number of people in this world that are bound up in vines that they need help to get out of. We need to be that help. Many don't even recognize that they are being consumed by these vines, whether it is drug addiction, alcoholism or sexual immorality. These are vines that were placed on God's people by satan to keep them from achieving the plan that God has for their lives. As the salt and the light we need to bring Jesus to these suffering souls so that He can set the captives free. They won't get free without his help.

The biggest problem in doing this though is that many people have had these vines wrapped around them so long, and been in that place so long, that they may not want to let go of what has become comfortable. Father give them eye's that see and ears that hear. Only our Savior Jesus Christ can set the captives free and He can only do that when He is invited to do so. We cannot do any of this on our own strength. We need Jesus and we have to call on Him. We all have a free will and Jesus will not force himself on anyone, saved or unsaved. He wants so badly for each and every one of us Jew & Gentile to call on him and let Him save us. He will un-wrap the vines and free us from anything that the devil has set in our path. He will sever every vine that is on us and cut every root that the enemy has connected to our spirits.

There are many people that read this blog from all parts of the world. I ask you now, if you were to die today. Do you know that you would go straight to Heaven? The bible says that we are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God. Secondly it says that "Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." We are all whosever's. If you do not know for absolute certain that if something happened to you today, that you would go straight to Heaven, please say this prayer with me.

Heavenly Father: I come to you in prayer asking for the forgiveness of my Sins. I confess with my mouth and believe with my heart that Jesus is your Son, And that he died on the Cross at Calvary that I might be forgiven and have Eternal Life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Father, I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you right now to come in to my life and be my personal Lord and Savior. I repent of my Sins and will Worship you all the days of my Life!. Because your word is truth, I confess with my mouth that I am Born Again and Cleansed by the Blood of Jesus! In Jesus Name, Amen.

If you read & spoke the Sinners Prayer and truly believe the words you read & spoke, then Praise the Lord as you have been saved and your name will appear in the "Lambs Book of Life!"
Thank you for reading.

God Bless you all.

"The Sharpshooter"

Open The Eyes Of My Heart

Have you ever noticed that there are times when you are so encouraged by what the word of God say's, but when you go to apply that word to your life you just don't seem to have the power or discipline to get the job done? I have been going through that in many areas as I’m sure many others have. The problem with me though was that I didn't understand my problem because I didn't feed myself the word as I was supposed to. I'm sure some of you have experienced a time like that. Instead of reading the word for myself and saving myself long suffering, I went through all sorts of problems until I heard the word taught to me last night in such a way that it pierced my spirit.

I was at church this past Tuesday night for a bible study on Romans. Pastor Wayne taught with brutal honesty and I learned right then that I was not alone. What an eye opener that was. I found out that I was not going through something new, not at all. Paul and countless others had experienced the exact thing that I have been experiencing, but Paul so eloquently wrote about it. I just didn't have the discipline to read it. There is no doubt that I could have saved myself a couple of years of heartaches and headaches had I simply done what I knew in my heart I was supposed to do, but instead I let procrastination thoughts overtake my heart.

Romans 7:14-25 (Message Bible) say's
“I know that all God's commands are spiritual, but I'm not. Isn't this also your experience?" Yes. I'm full of myself—after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary.

But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me join's in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?
The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.”

What Paul said in this passage speaks to so many of us that it had to be repeated. I pray that I will conquer the rebellious side of me on a daily basis because that’s what needs to die. I cannot live totally for Christ if I have not totally died to sin. Jesus never asked us to give him half of our best. He gave us everything and we bring him half. Mathematically that just doesn’t work out. He deserves our very best. I’m amazed that we won’t hesitate to ask the Lord for everything plus increase and somehow we are able to rationalize giving back less than that.

I am so thankful that my eyes have been opened to this. As painful a lesson as this was to learn, I am thankful. I pray that all who read this will get what I got if they haven’t already, and that’s a wake up call that no matter what you’re going through in life. Someone else has been through the same thing before you or something very similar.

I am now equipped to win this battle that is inside of me. I now know the recipe for the destruction of sin in my life. I recently read something that Bill Johnson wrote that speaks to this battle of good & evil. He said that “King David was known for killing Goliath in His youth. Yet there are at least four other giants killed in Scripture—all killed by the men who followed David, the giant killer. If you want to kill giants, hang around a giant killer. It rubs off.” I hang around my Pastor and his family at every opportunity I get, because when I am around them for a few hours, I go home a different person. I pray that everyone would have or find a person they can look to that is a spiritual giant so that the strength and discipline that they need will rub off on them

Father I thank you for this lesson. I pray that you would surround all of us Lord with people that are giant killers, So that we can capture the anointing that they have on them and acquire the ability to defeat the giants in our lives. Sin, discipline and any other areas that we need to conquer.

I ask this in Jesus name

Amen

God Bless You All.

“The Sharpshooter”

Living In The Dark

The Lord brought something to my attention today that I felt really compelled to write about. I know that I can say from a personal standpoint and also that most everyone has felt this at one time or another for a brief time or a long time. You feel like you’ve been living in a fog, like you’ve been existing but not living. Everything good seems to be happening to someone else, nothing feels quite right, it seems like there is a darkness surrounding you that you just wish someone else could see so that they could help to pull you out of it.

This darkness is caused by deception, as well as things that we see, hear and feel that are not righteous. It’s a darkness that satan wants to bind you up in so that you lose your hope and give up on God. If he can accomplish this he wins the war over you that he fights every day. He waits literally like a snake in the grass just waiting ever so patiently to strike. The devil will use any means necessary to steal you from Your Victory and God’s promises. The devil could be compared to a sideshow worker at a carnival trying to sell you his show or his goods. Inside of this show tent though there isn’t a regular sideshow. Instead there are things that can tempt us such as pornography, drugs, alcohol, all in abundance free for the taking, because he knows that if you try it once you’ll be hooked and begging for more. You can be the most upstanding person on the planet but if you fall into that trap, you’re in the dark and at first it doesn’t feel so bad because so many other people are there with you, so you don’t recognize the darkness. However you’ve been tricked and temptation got you. Is it bad, oh yes it’s bad. Is it unforgivable? NO!

When we finally cry out to the Lord for “HELP”! He hears us just like a parent hears a child crying for help when they fall or get hurt. God does the same thing as any other good parent too; He picks us up, dusts us of and tells us to try again. We have an opportunity to start over just like a child would. What we do with our next opportunity is the most important decision we can make, but we often don’t take the time to think. We run on impulse and we end up falling again and again, so that we eventually need that device that goes around your neck to call for help. “Lord I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” That’s the point of desperation that we need to get to before we’ll actually look at the Lord’s help and not take it for granted. We’re more apt to be forever grateful. If someone saves you from falling off of the roof of a tall building, you’re very likely going to feel indebted to them for saving your life.

Jesus Christ not only pulled us in from the edge of the roof, He gave his life in the process so that we could live. He did not have to do this. He chose to do it because of his love for us. Hearing that needs to cause a physical reaction in all of us. Every time I hear what Jesus did for us or when I see the cross, my heart grieves over what He did for me. I can’t afford to take this gift for granted. I am drawn into repentance as I recall this act of love that exceeds anything you or I can comprehend. Just be thankful and love Him back. That’s all he wants is our love.

When we are steadfast (firm in purpose, resolution, faith) we resist the darkness and the devil will flee from us, taking with him the darkness and negativity. Leaving us to see and bask in the beauty that the Lord has surrounded us with. 2 Chronicles 7:14 (Amplified Bible) say’s, If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

Cry out to the Lord for help. Let him pull you from the darkness and into His light. He will restore your peace! He will restore your joy! He will restore the life that had been stolen from you. We have a major part in this though. We have to not only let Him fix us, we have to feel worthy of it and accept the blessing that he has given us.

A Prayer

Father I thank you for this message. I thank you for the opportunity to share it and possibly help some to see your light, from the darkness in their lives. Father I pray that each reader would have peace, health and love and have these things in your abundance God. I pray that each of us will keep our hearts soft and pliable so that we don’t let the darkness of this world, harden us to a point where we lose sight of you. Be with us all and guide our every thought and step.

In Jesus name I pray

Amen

God Bless You All.

“The Sharpshooter”

Why Have You Forsaken Me

Jesus cried out from the cross "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which translated means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

At the time of his biggest trial, even Jesus felt like the Father had abandoned him. Though this was only a feeling as the Father had not forsaken him, it must have been an extremely intense feeling of abandonment. Even through that feeling Jesus then said "Into your hands I commend my spirit". Jesus never lost faith in Father God. He knew that the Father had a bigger will for Him and he wanted the Father's will to be done not his own. How close to that way of thinking are we?

Often times our spirits cry out the same thing as we feel that feeling of abandonment. "Father, Father, why have you forsaken me". Many times we feel like God's presence is not with us. We begin to wonder if He's even hearing our cries for help. When we don't get an answer from God we often times blame Him for whatever we were going through, because he didn't fix our problem or speak to us. Whatever the problem or need was it certainly wasn't God's fault. It was of our own doing or our own fault. We fail to realize or accept the fact that we are sinners in a sin filled world. God is perfect; none of us are or can ever be. So the fact that we are in sin, no matter how big or little our sin is, is most likely the thing blocking us from feeling God's presence in our lives and being in the position to receive the things of God. It is not Him choosing not to communicate with us because he doesn't feel like it.?

When we repent for our sins, our Father is gracious to forgive us of our sins, but the question we each need to ask ourselves is, are we asking God for his forgiveness, or are we rationalizing with ourselves that what we are doing isn't really sin? Every one of us is a sinner and every one of us needs to repent for those sins. It would be best if we made this a daily practice to set time aside to seek the Lord, repent for our sins and pray for God's grace and forgiveness. We should do this before we pray for anything else or anyone else, because by repenting and cleansing our spirit of sin, we are in better communion with the Lord

I don't know how many people have ever stopped to ponder this, but it needs to be looked at. Why have we forsaken God? We often feel that he has forgotten or forsaken us, but we are the ones that want control of our own lives and we want God on our terms. He accepts us just as we are. It can't work like that. We should be so in love with Him and desperate for Him that we'd be willing to handcuff ourselves to Him, just so that we would never be separated from Him. We go to Him when we need something but very few of us ever spend time just talking to God, or just praising God. He is there just waiting for us to come to him, He will not makes us come to him, and he will not chase us down. God wants so badly for us to communicate with him as "Our Father". I know parents that have communication breakdowns with their children and the pain they go through is agonizing to watch. Imagine for a moment the pain that we cause God to feel when we only go to him when we need something from him.

He wants to be a part of our "everyday" lives. He has plans for each of our lives that were never intended to be kept secret. He wants very badly to tell us these things, but he can't share these things with us until we become mature enough spiritually to receive them. If you don't have a relationship with the Father, He could talk to you all day long and you wouldn't know his voice. The time is coming sooner than we realize when Jesus Christ is going to return to this earth for His people. It is essential that right now we stop and take a spiritual inventory of ourselves. If you've never had a relationship with Jesus or had one and let it go stagnant, you need to call on Jesus, repent for your sins, and ask Him to make your spirit white as snow. Then draw near to him and stay close. Watch how your life begins to change right before your eyes.

See unlike us, He is merciful, graceful and forgiving. If we ask for His forgiveness, he will do it. So it is not too late for any one of us to make things right with the Lord. He tells us this in Hebrews 13:5 “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” If anyone has forsaken anyone, we His children have forsaken Him. Let us not miss the opportunity we have to mend that relationship with Him or begin one if you never had one. Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you.

A Prayer

Father I thank you for this message and I give you praise for the wondrous things you do for us. Father I pray right now for the ones that don’t know you and for the ones that have known you and fallen away that you would strengthen them all so that they could battle through the negative forces of this world to find their way to you Father. Remove the scales from their eyes and open their ears Father so that they could see and hear you in their spirit. Build in them father a burning desire for you that could only be quenched by the living water of Jesus Christ.

I pray this in Jesus name.

Amen

God Bless You All

"The Sharpshooter"

Doubt the Doubter

Revelation 3:15-16 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!

If you look at a battery for any appliance you have, you’ll see that the positive and negative posts are very far apart so that they cannot touch. If they touch there is destruction by way of explosion.
When we are HOT, on fire for God, we are not only believing and loving him, but we trust him beyond anything or anyone that we would trust on earth. We do not just believe that He can do what he say’s that He will, we are trusting that He will do that thing.

Many times we will believe God for something but we may say something to the effect of “Well, I know that He can do it, but he probably won’t do it for me.” When we do this we are mixing a positive and a negative which is a dangerous mix. Have you ever noticed that when this happens it ends up being a relatively painful experience? Not only don’t we receive what He has for us because we doubted, but we have actually allowed ourselves to become the one thing that the Lord despises and that is lukewarm. It is better to be a non believer than it is to be a believer that doubts Him. At least the non believer doesn’t know God, and never had a relationship with Him, but to have a relationship with Him and to know Him but not trust Him or doubt Him is one of the worst things a Christian can do.

I pray that you never experience being lukewarm for God, but if you ever do it can feel like nothing good will ever happen again. You begin to feel like you’ve breathed your last breath in God’s favor. Questions like “will I ever feel close to God again?” will pop into your mind. Know that this is the devil trying to gain total victory over you; it is a time when you don’t feel like praying, worshiping or doing anything to help yourself. Again this is satan trying to gain a total victory over you. It is a time when you have to force yourself to pray, to worship, and to get in the Bible and just read. It will help you to hold on until you get breakthrough. I have experienced this first hand and I never want to experience this again.

This is not to say don’t question God. Questioning God is a good thing and encouraged because when we do we’re often seeking confirmation for something he said. We have got to stop doubting the one we should believe, and we need to stop believing the one that we should doubt. Many have this backwards and in this New Year, there is no better time then the present to clean out some bad habits.

I have lost count as to how many times I have heard someone say that God said He’d do something but the person doesn’t believe it can happen for them. This is because When the Lord said He would do whatever it was; the thought process didn’t stop there. The devil sneaks right in and tells us that God won’t do what he said and sometimes we agree with that for whatever reason.

The best thing we can do is to doubt the doubter. When God say’s he’ll do something, we need to receive it and go into prayer and thanksgiving for that thing. When the devil comes lurking around trying to tell you that God can’t or won’t do what He said, just tell the devil I doubt that. If you want to confuse the devil, that’s how to do it. He’ll go off talking to other devils (can you believe that I just told this Christian that I doubted God and the Christian doubted me right back? Can he do that? That’s not fair!! Now what do I do?

Let’s start putting a hurting on the devil. Let’s start kicking him around instead of letting him run rampant in our lives.

Lord God I thank you for this message. I thank you God for reigniting the fire within my spirit for you. I pray father that with the wisdom I have gained from the difficult times I’ve experienced, that you would send me to those that are experiencing a dark time in their lives, so that I could impart the peace and love that you have so generously given to me, into them. Father God I’m asking for a special blessing for all of the readers of this blog, that they and their families would experience your supernatural love, favor and compassion all through 2007. May this year be the year of revival fire here in the United States!

I ask this in the name of your son Jesus Christ.

God Bless You All

“The Sharpshooter”

Service To The Lord

Luke 17:7- 8 “When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’

The North American Church unlike other countries seems to have twisted the meaning behind this scripture. Many Christians today go to church to be feed a great message that lifts them up to make it from Sunday to Sunday. Often times if there isn't a meaty message, people will move on down the road going from church to church until they find a message that feeds their spirit. Church is not for feeding our spirits and our wants and desires and it was never designed for that purpose.

Jesus said in Matthew 21:13 "It is written," he said to them, “My house will be called a house of prayer. Church has always been known as a house of worship." When we are there, we are there for one purpose. We are there to give thanks and praise for all that the Lord has done and continues to do in our lives. We give Him glory. The idea that we are going to go to church and come out all filled up is wrong. We might come out with our spirits filled up because something the pastor said in his message put us in a positive space, but that was not the sole purpose. We feel good mostly from the overflow from our praises to God.

Our receiving comes from our giving. I don't mean money. I mean praise and thanks. When we honor the Lord, we prove worthy before him. He loves when we praise, when we show faith, when we give to him or to others in need. The good feeling we are all looking for should come from our giving of ourselves. Having our hearts and minds in the right place and focusing on the things of God. That is where the great feelings come from.

The Pastor is not there to make us feel good. Preaching is all about getting us right with God. The pastor leads us through the dark areas of life and into the light, using the word of God, drawing us closer to that place where we are in communion with the Lord. The pastor's message should draw us closer to God. It should convict our spirit of anything we have done wrong in thought or in action, so that we can repent for that thought or action and become able to be forgiven and washed white as snow by the blood of Jesus.

I long for the day when the fire of the Holy Spirit flows through the hearts all of us, so that we can really see what God can do. There are many churches in the United States, but unfortunately many of them will never actually see God move. So many churches just go through the motions of a service or mass and they stick to a structured routine. There is nothing structured about God, belief, faith, praise, or miracles. I can’t endure sitting through that type of service anymore and I cringe whenever I have to go to a church that is like that, I thank God that those occasions are rare. If you are in a church like that and you’re content with it, you couldn’t have experienced a move of God. Anyone that has seen something happen that absolutely no question had to be a supernatural move of God could not be content to do church like that once they had.

I actually refer to those kind congregations as “churches” and the places where the spirit of the Lord resides as “houses of worship”. The difference is like night and day. It is just a whole lot more fun to give praise, worship and glory to the Lord in great abundance. If prayer is the thing that moves God, then “Houses of worship” are the place to be, because there is nothing like seeing the result of God performing a miracle or healing someone or giving favor to someone. My heart skips a beat every time I see something that God has done. I love just hearing the testimonies from people that have received a blessing from God.

So be joyous in all of your giving. Serve the Father the way he deserves to be served, with all of your heart, soul, mind and spirit. With everything you have serve Him. In everything you do serve Him. Spending our entire lives from the womb to the tomb serving God wouldn’t be enough. We owe him for everything we have.

1 Peter 2:21-22 (The Message) This is the kind of life you've been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step. He never did one thing wrong, Not once said anything amiss. They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you're named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls.

I invite you to pray this with me

Father God, I thank you for all that you do for us. We are not worthy of your grace, and forgiveness, but you do it anyway. If only we could show you the unconditional love that you show to us God. You deserve our best, your word teaches us how to live and how to serve you. Help us God to be better servants to you. I ask you to take control and guide us all into the place you desire for each of us. Lord Jesus come. Come upon us and fill our hearts, help us to be better at giving away the love, compassion, and blessings that you bestow upon each of us. Teach us how to do your will better so that we get into the place where we can see you performing miracles as an everyday occurance.

I ask this in your most Holy name

Amen

God Bless You All

“The Sharpshooter”

The Priority Of Seeking God's Face

2 Chronicles 7:14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Psalm 27:8 My heart says of you "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek.

Psalm 105:4 Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.

The instruction is given to us many times in the Bible,” Seek His face." It is supposed to be the face and the heart of God that we seek for there in his heart is his love for us. In his face is his relationship with us. Spending time with the Lord should be our primary focus. We should be seeking the Lord just because we want to spend time with him, whether that means being in prayer, reading the bible, meditating on His word or having conversations about him. In all of these instances we are spending time, giving praise, acknowledging His many works and when we are speaking about him to others we are giving testimony of what God has done in our lives. The power of our testimony should never be underestimated. When we tell someone what the Lord has done for us, we are creating an environment for God to move in. Our testimony creates an environment for the supernatural to happen.

Instead of seeking His face though, many people just seek the Lord's hand. They don't want a relationship; they only want what’s in it for them. It becomes all about them instead of being all about God. These people very rarely receive a blessing unless God feels that a sign or blessing from him will be the thing that moves them into a place where they accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Usually though people that just seek the Lord for his hand, don't get much. They end up saying "See, there is no God" or "God doesn't love me." Oh, if they only understood what they were saying, but they don't and that's where we as Christians have to shine the light of God into the lives of these people in order that they would see the errors of their ways and get on the path of righteousness.

Christians need to be the light of the world that pierces the darkness in people’s lives. It can be a monumental challenge to do this on a consistent basis no doubt but it’s what we are supposed to be. If we fight negative with negative, there is no victory, there is no hope, and there is no light. Jesus said in John 8:12 "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."

When we stop seeking God's hand and we begin to seek relationship with Him, we will begin to see change almost immediately. God wants to bless us abundantly, but until we can be trusted with His relationship, we won't be trusted with His blessings. Then when we are worthy of His blessings, they will start small until we can be trusted with those. When we get to the point of receiving God's blessings, we are not to keep them for ourselves. They were not given to us for our own benefit like a reward. We are to take our blessings and bless others with them.

We are God's representatives to others and when we bless someone else and give from the heart (not from obligation) God will bless the giver in return. The more we are entrusted with though, the more responsibility we have. Luke 12:48 When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.

We need to understand that everything we have was given to us by the God. No matter what it is, whether it is a job, a family, finances, health, without His approval we’d have nothing. That said we need to stop complaining and murmuring about our circumstances and situations and give Him praise through it all. When you complain about your job, that you're not being paid enough, think of this. Maybe God hired you for that job because he needed light in that place. He didn't hire you to provide you with money. If God wants to provide us with finances, he could do it in any way he pleases. Money could fall from the sky or come from a rock. God is God and we are not. When God is ready to provide you finances, he could have an enemy of yours come right up to you and write you check. Psalm 34:10 “those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.”

I invite you to pray this with me.

Heavenly Father, I thank you for providing for us and being the light that pierces the darkness in our lives, so that we can spread that light into the lives of others. You always lead by example Father and show us the way to live. Give us the strength Lord God, to endure the trials and difficulties that we encounter in bringing your word to others that need it. Help us God to persevere and to never take for granted the things you do for us, the things you provide for us and mostly for the Love that you give to us.

In Jesus Name I Pray.

Amen

God Bless You All








“The Sharpshooter”

Faith By Hearing.

Romans 10:13-17 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, “Lord, who has believed our message?” So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.

For a person to be saved, they must call on the Lord in faith and turn from their sin. But the immediate question that is addressed through Paul is asking how anyone can call on God if they do not believe God and His Word. There is also the question that they cannot believe God if they have not even heard of Him. So it is clear that there needs to be a preacher to proclaim the truth to them so that they might know Who God is and what is required of them to be reconciled to Him.

We have to understand that this is not speaking of a preacher in the sense of a pastor or evangelist or an "official" church position. It is speaking of the role that we all have to be proclaiming the gospel to those around us. So it is not necessarily preaching from a pulpit, but any declaration of the gospel from those who know it to those who need to hear it. Paul say’s that the preacher must be sent. While we understand the call of God on the lives of those serving as pastors and missionaries, we must not forget that it is the responsibility of each one of us to preach the gospel to the world.

Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. We are all to be sowing the seed, because if we do not tell people about God and about their need for salvation, then how can they call out to Him and be saved? God us as the means to call sinners to salvation.

People must hear the Word of God in order to know the truth and believe it. Faith comes by hearing the gospel, not just listening to it, but hearing and understanding the gospel of Jesus Christ. and hearing comes by the Word of God. God uses His word to open ears and eyes to hear and see the truth. Without Him we are dead, blind, and deaf, but when He uses His Word to open our ears and eyes, we can hear and see and believe and call out with our mouths, and "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." This teaches us that the power of the Word of God is alive, active, powerful, and has unlimited power.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. It is living and powerful. It cuts right to the heart of the matter. It is a two-edged sword. It reveals the true intentions of the human heart and exposes our every thought.

James 1:23-25 if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. The Word of God is a mirror. It reflects to us the truth, unvarnished. And the way we respond says much about our faith and maturity in the Lord.

The Word of God ALWAYS accomplishes the purpose that He means for it to accomplish. The Word is never sent out to return with no results. We make the mistake sometimes of forgetting that the Word can bring more than one result because often we are seeking one primary result, the salvation of a soul and when people don’t get saved we think that either we have failed in our witnessing or that the Word of God failed and did not bring forth fruit.

God's word not only brings salvation, it also brings healing, it convicts our spirits, it sanctifies us, and breaks us. This should give us great freedom in preaching the Word to those who need to hear it because the results of our preaching are not dependant on us, but on God's Word and the Word never fails!

Let us pray:

Father God, I thank you Lord that your word is as alive today as it was in the beginning of time. I thank you God that your gift of salvation is available to every soul because your son Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross and shed his blood for the forgiveness of our sins. Father guide us is our preaching. Give us the right words for this season that people would receive you God. I pray for every lost soul Lord. That we would have time enough to reach out to them and offer them your free gift of salvation, before it’s too late.

In Jesus Name I Pray

Amen

God Bless You All








“The Sharpshooter”

When you cry out to God, are you crying out for Him and Him alone or are you calling on Him out of personal need? Many times when we do this we don't even know it until it is an afterthought. Our Father is there for us twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. He never sleeps or takes a break. The people that are in right communication with the Father are the ones who spend time in His presence daily. These people spend time meditating on His word and they put what they've read to use in their daily lives. They spend time with the Lord just to spend time with him. They're not calling on him just because they need something. By spending time with no personal motives, we establish a relationship filled with knowledge and understanding. There is daily fellowship with the Father and those that spend that kind of time know him best.

There is no room for negativity in our lives when the Lord is a part of our daily routine. Negativity can not be where God is. When we spend time with the Lord as we are supposed to, it is unlikely that we'll experience things like bitterness, oppression, hatred and selfishness. because we are so full of the word and God is guiding our every step. Our faith is high, our hearts are full and there is no room for these negative things to come in to our lives, no matter how hard satan tries. Negativity can not be where God is.

When we start to feel negativity creeping in, it is because we have allowed room for it. We have not spent time with God on a personal level. We may have gone to church and heard a great sermon, but that is nowhere near the same as spending personal devotional time with the Father. When we go to God with a problem or a need, is it fair to expect an answer or a blessing when the only reason we're calling on Him is because everything else we tried has failed? Not at all. I would never expect God to move on anything in my life unless I have a relationship with him based on love for Him all that he does.

If someone came to you only when they wanted something from you, would you respond in a favorable way all the time? Most likely no, but if a person has a relationship with you just because of the person you are, it's very likely that your going to move mountains for that person. Why then should our relationship with God be any different. Seek God just for God. Spend time with Him because you love Him, not because you feel your supposed to. He wants us to come to Him because we want to, not because we have to. He'll never force us, but if we miss out on what the Father has for our lives, it's entirely because of the choices we made.

Being in right standing with God is the key element and deciding factor of how your day, week and life will be. We can choose to spend time with God and become very strong in Him, which will in turn produce great things or we can choose to call on him just when we need something and pray for his mercy. God is merciful and he gave us free will, so he will answer both the prayer warrior and the one lost in the wilderness of life, but wouldn’t you rather have the comfort of knowing that you have a great relationship with God instead of hoping he’ll help out of mercy?

Like anything else in life the more you do something the better you get at it. Nobody can just pick up an instrument for the first time and sound like a great musician, nor can we expect our first efforts with our prayer life or devotional time to be life changing. We are a work in progress always. Our prayer time and devotional time will improve with use and the more time we spend, the better we'll get at it. The result will be a great two way relationship with Our Father in Heaven. He so wants to have this time with each and every one of us. He will never force us to come to him, but he is there waiting for you to pick a time in your day to spend with him. He loves you and he wants to bless you. The question is do you want Him the way He wants you? I pray that your answer is a resounding yes!

I invite you to pray this with me.

Father your mercy is often more than we deserve. I pray Father that you would help us all to always be faithful in our devotional time with you. To always spend time with you just to be with you and no other reason. I pray for that person who is coming to you only as a last resort Father. I pray that you will forgive them Father and be merciful to their need, because they don't know you. The power of your blessing can make them see that you are who you say you are, you are God almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth. Guide us in our daily lives Lord God, help us to seek out the lost and give them the opportunity to know and understand you and have that relationship with you that they need and you want for them.

I ask this in Jesus name.

Amen.

God Bless You All



“The Sharpshooter”

A Change of Pace

Many of us have heard the term “God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow”. Well, that goes for Heaven as well. In an effort to think more in line with what things are like in Heaven, I took notice of many things. I’m here to tell you, our lives here can be a whole lot better than they are now, no matter how well we think we’re doing

In Heaven there is no stress or anxiety. Time itself I would imagine is not a big deal, as eternity is a very long time. This life we are living now in these bodies on this planet should be lived following the Bible which is the owners manual for humanity. Have you ever noticed that the people living their lives by the word of God are living much different than those that are not living by the word of God?

Faith is important to the people that are referring to the owners manual (The Bible) but faith is not important to those not living by the Bible. There are many manuals for us to refer to when problems arise, but only one holds the answers to anything we could ever have a problem with or a question about and that manual is the Bible.

A good example of what I mean is the out of control pace that we live at today. Life here on earth is not the same yesterday today and tomorrow as it is in Heaven. Do you think that this was part of God’s plan regarding having life and having it in abundance? I don’t. Over the past fifty years or more, the pace of life has gotten increasingly faster. With that speed comes the expectation for us to maintain that speed and still have the same quality that people had back in a simpler time. That goes for life at work or at home, whether you’re making your bed or making a major corporate decision. Anxiety becomes a problem because our minds and bodies were never meant to go at breakneck speed all of the time.

So today we live in the most medicated society ever. Medications for stress, anxiety and depression issues have become such common place that the lay person knows as much about these medications as the doctors do. The world shoves this information in our faces and many of us buy right into it. Take this pill you’ll feel better! This is an extremely temporary remedy and it’s the farthest thing from a solution. This all goes into something I wrote about a while ago regarding childhood. That was a simple time too but because we wanted to be older and get the drivers license and even become legal age to drink alcohol, we asked for it and we got it, but in rushing to get there we lost our child like thinking.

In the same way, through the years we have wanted to improve things to make them easier and faster.. There is a price for that and I don’t think that was ever considered. The great deceiver satan, the great illusionist made everything appear as though all of these improvements would be free. They are far from free and now we’re paying the price. There are people ending their lives today by suicide because they can’t take the stress. In that respect satan accomplished what he set out to do. He wants to kill, steal and destroy us. We have the power to take back what is ours and that’s our peace and sanity.

The solution is that we need to make a conscious effort to take time to breathe, literally stop and smell the roses. We may not be able to go back to 1940 but we sure can make the effort to live at that pace. Put aside the microwave oven and cook a real meal. Put away the remote control and get off the sofa to change the channel of the television. Go for a walk to the mailbox, don’t drive one block. Take the time to spend with God every day. He’s there waiting for you and He’s the great problem solver and the great physician, all we have to do is make the time and go to him and ask Him for help. Let go of this frantic way of living and let God guide your every step.

Please Pray this with me.

Father I thank you for this message and for the wisdom and insight into the way’s we should be doing things. You want the best for us and your word tells us this many times over. Lord God I pray for your guidance. I pray that you would open our eyes to see the deception going on around us being promoted by satan. Help us to get back to a simpler way of living. We are in a time when we can’t even appreciate what we have because we’ve taken efficiency to far. We’ve made things more difficult by trying to make life easier. You meant for us to live life, not rush through it. Bring us out of the darkness Father and into your light where we will live in your perfect peace forever.

In Jesus name I pray

Amen.

God Bless You All








“The Sharpshooter”

Father Knows Best

You know those times in life when you want something so bad that you can’t think of anything else? Recently that happened to me and a lesson learned long ago, was not only proven but reinforced. There have been many times in life when I have wanted something and went against reason at times to get what I wanted only to find out in the end that it either wasn’t worth it or it wasn’t meant to be. This happens to everyone from time to time but I have a recent event that might be able to teach something.

As a child I always wanted a dog and every time I asked for one, my parents said no. So I ended up with a goldfish that didn’t really satisfy the desire for a dog, but it was something to love and it helped, but I was always mad at my parents thinking they were just terrible parents. I don’t know many people that haven’t been there and done that.

Looking back I can’t put my finger on the reason why I wanted a dog, I just did. I ended up getting my first one when I was 18 years old. The dog was a Pug and I named it Penni. She had been found by an animal control officer abandoned by its owner and she had just had pups, so it was evident they just used Penni to get a litter of puppies to make money on. I loved that dog and spent every moment I could with her, she even slept in my bed.

God was in control and I had no idea at the time because I did not have any form of relationship with him. I had no idea know God was in control. You see, originally I had purchased a Chihuahua from a kennel and while waiting for it to be old enough to take, something went wrong and I couldn’t buy it... So I asked what else they had for dogs and the girl asked me to wait a second. Out came Penni from the back room. I had never seen a Pug. My first thought was she is so ugly she’s cute. I ended up with a dog that needed me as much as needed her and she gave back the love she received two fold. So God provided for both me and the dog.

During the time I had Penni I found my way to the Lord and asked Jesus into my heart. When I did that I asked him to guide every step in my life and take over. “More of you God and less of me” was my cry. Well I got what I asked for and I am so thankful for that, but there are still times where my own desires get in the way of God’s will being done. His way will win out but sometimes you have to go through the process of doing it the hard way to see that...

Every month this year, there have been discussions between myself and Rosalie about getting a dog, partly for the children and partly for me. Rosalie didn’t want a dog and all of the responsibilities that went with it but I did. I kept selling the idea to her like a like a used car salesman and being the wonderful wife that she is, she didn’t give in, but she did to put her feelings aside so that we could get a dog. I didn’t realize even then what a sacrifice she was making for me. I do now though.

We went through a breeder and knew exactly what we wanted and got it. This past Saturday we brought home a Chocolate Labrador Retriever. She was a beautiful seven week old puppy. The pup had never been separated from the litter until we took her home. Neither of us ever thought for a second that this dog would keep the entire house awake while it cried and barked all night long. The poor thing was inconsolable. On Sunday I knew that this puppy was much more than we could handle and we had to return it. Of course this was a very emotional time and even Rosalie who hadn’t wanted a dog was sad to see the dog go, but she knew it was the right thing.

I am convinced that God gave me this experience so that I would see his will through it. I know that we did the best thing for that puppy and for ourselves. After a stress filled week of preparing for a dog and then getting one and having to return it, I have learned a valuable lesson. I need to be a better husband and father. My own desires got the best of me and to some extent blinded my sensibilities. I was no longer Mr. Commonsense, I was using little sense. Had I listened to my wife more and respected that she didn’t really want a dog, this hard lesson could have been avoided, but I didn’t listen and even through my ignorance, God is glorified. I had prayed about getting a dog, asking for provision, and guidance, but when I didn’t get answer to that prayer I got impatient. Again because of my own desires.

Here is what the Lord did and what I learned. He allowed me to get the dog in order to find out for myself that I had made a mistake and He left opportunity for me to return the pup and suffer minimal loss but enough to sting a bit. I had caused my family unnecessary stress do to arguing about getting a dog. The day after returning the dog, God has restored peace in my home and other areas of my life that were suffering. I think in the end it has made Rosalie and me even closer because I have a different respect for her today than just a few days’ ago. God is in the business of healing hearts, minds, bodies and spirits. He has done that for me and my family, but I had to learn the hard way. If I had only listened to all of the warning signs and been obedient, I would have ended up in the same place with the same peace but without the pain I had to go through to get here.

Thank You God for seeing past my faults and forgiving me. You do know best and we all need to cry out, “More of You God and less of us”.

I invite you to pray this with me.

Father God, you are so faithful. You see past our arrogance and ignorance and you even step aside to let us have our way even when it’s wrong. You know best Lord God and you show us through your gentleness and forgiveness when we completely mess things up, that you are there and that you care. You take bad situations and make them turn out ok so that we can see that our way does not work and we have to live a life of “Your will be done”. Lord God, I pray that would give me the ability to sacrifice the way you want me to and the way my wife did. Show us the way God.

I ask this in Jesus name

God Bless You All








“The Sharpshooter”